This study examines the compliance costs of Canada's personal income-tax system. That is, it examines all of the costs, time, and effort associated with preparing personal income-tax returns including buying tax software, hiring professionals such as accountants and lawyers, and completing and submitting personal income-tax returns. The study is part of a larger Fraser Institute research project that aims to calculate the compliance burden of all taxes in Canada.

Since 1997, The Fraser Institute has conducted an annual survey of metal mining and exploration companies to assess how mineral endowments and public policy factors such as taxation and regulation affect exploration investment. Survey results represent the opinions of executives and exploration managers in mining and mining consulting companies operating around the world. The survey now includes data on 72 jurisdictions around the world, on every continent except Antarctica, including sub-national jurisdictions in Canada, Australia, and the United States.

The federal government has claimed credit for Canada's economic turnaround in the second half of 2009, but data from Statistics Canada tell a different story.